DESERTS-TREES-SUVS
Date Visited: 4/5/2019 We had now completed 304 miles of the 444 mile long scenic drive. Next stop Cave Spring. Where you have limestone and water, you have the potential for sinkholes and the depression in the ground you see here is just that thing. Limestone is in the class of rocks called Carbonite. Carbonite... Continue Reading →
Date Visited: 4/4/2019 Near Mathiston, Mississippi, in Choctaw County we came upon MP 198.6 and the historic marker for The Old Natchez Trace. It's here where we learned how the trail became a road. In 1800 congress established a postal route from Nashville Tennessee to Natchez Mississippi. In 1801 the US Army began clearing the... Continue Reading →
Date Visited: 4/4/2019 Jeff Busby park was named after Mississippi Congressman Thomas Jefferson Busby who on February 15, 1934 introduced a bill authorizing a survey of the Natchez Trace. Thanks to his efforts the Natchez Trace Trail became part of the National Park Service four short years later. The campground at the park is one... Continue Reading →
Date Visited: 4/4/2019 We had now driven 175 miles north on the Natchez Trace Parkway and seen some pretty cool things and as well as walked some beautiful little interpretive trails, but our next stop ended up being our favorite little nature trail of them all. During our stop at MP 122 we learned about... Continue Reading →
Date Visited: 4/4/2019 Our next stop continues to explain how water plays an important roll in the the composition of a landscape. Coming in at less than a 1/4 mile this was one of the quickest little interpretive trails along the Natchez Trace Parkway. Signage along the trail points out a variety of trees and... Continue Reading →
Date Visited: 4/4/2019 Although I've lived in Florida my entire life, I have never seen a beaver. I've seen plenty of otters, but never a beaver. This is primarily because of two factors; 1.) they are mostly dispersed throughout the panhandle and I live in central Florida and 2.) they are generally nocturnal so a... Continue Reading →
Date Visited: 4/4/2019 We finally figured out we weren't going to melt! After driving 50 miles from our campsite in the pouring rain, and passing a few stops along the trace we had wanted to see, we decided to throw on our Frogtoggs and make like a duck. Our first stop was at a Tupelo... Continue Reading →
Date Visited: 4/4/2019 Mother nature simply doesn't care about your vacation plans! Day two of our trip up the Natchez Trace began as a wet soggy mess. We drove north skipping several pull offs hoping to outrun the rain. We were not successful. So when we reached the Reservoir overlook at mile post 105.6, instead... Continue Reading →
Date Visited: 4/3/2019 Our first day traveling the scenic route of the Natchez Trade Parkway had been picture perfect. The weather was wonderful, the temperature mild, and the trees had just started to show their spring bloom. We started our day with the best Tamales we had ever had before hoping on the trace. Our... Continue Reading →
Date Visited: 4/3/2019 Four miles north of the popular Sunken Trace we pulled off at Grindstone Ford. The history of Grindstone Ford is more interesting than what you will actually be able to see here. Once home to the Burnett stand, all that remains today is the Burnett family cemetery. We took the easy .4... Continue Reading →
At mile post 41.5 on the Natchez Trace Parkway you will find what is probably one of the most photographed places on our journey along this historic scenic drive - the Sunken Trace. The Sunken Trace is a gentle but exaggerated reminder of the impact of humans as we interact with the land. When you... Continue Reading →
Date Visited: 4/3/2019 If you're traveling the Natchez Trace Parkway through Mississippi, Windsor Ruins is a side trip well worth your time. At the time of our visit there were 23 of the original 29 columns still standing, along with another five partial columns that unfortunately have not withstood the test of time. The History... Continue Reading →
Date Visited: 4/3/2019 Our next stop on the NTP reminded me of the History Channel series Life After People! America looked much different before European settlers molded and reshaped the land with their hands, plows, and chainsaws. Once dense mature forests were turned into flat barren farmland. Loess soil, protected by heavy vegetation quickly eroded... Continue Reading →
Date Visited: 4/3/2019 Heading north from the Elizabeth Female Academy along the Natchez Trace Parkway, we hung a left at mile post 10.3 and took the short drive to our next stop where we would spend some reflective time at the second largest ceremonial mound in North America. Second only to Monks Mound in Cahokia,... Continue Reading →
After filling our bellies in the city of Natchez we drove approximately 2.5 miles east on Liberty Rd. until we reached the southern terminus of the Natchez Trace Parkway. The parkway is a 444 mile, windy, two lane, scenic drive that follows the path of the historic travel corridor called the "Old Natchez Trace" through... Continue Reading →
